WAIT!!!! Before I start I would like to rewind.
Hmmmm. One thing I was questioning before our Israel trip was how this group was going to bond. Coming from all different shapes and styles of schools would be a challenge we would have to get through. We were all friendly at seminars and the mifgash but how are we actually going to survive 10 days with each other? Then it hit me. Surviving ten days with each other was exactly how we would bond. There were some people on this trip that I honestly didn’t talk to before we landed in Israel. I think by doing all kinds of fun things together, we have become tight as a knot with each other. “We are all in this together” as they say. that’s how others and myself lived through this.
Wake up at 6 o’clock. Eat. Eat more. Go to sleep at 1:30. Repeat.
If I had to give you a general schedule of our tour, I would tell you what was shown above. As a teen, we are obsessed with sleeping in and sitting on the couch all day. Many complaints this trip have been about this lack of sleep we have gotten and the relentless hours of ‘on board’ attention we had to give to speakers, tours, each other, and the all famous ‘non. Before the trip, I expected some relaxing tours and chill speakers. What I did not expect, is exactly what we have been running around doing for all 10 days – having fun, and attending educational and very interesting lectures and tours. Keeping up with everything and paying extra attention to things while staying respectful, alive, awake, alert and enthusiastic was a bit of challenge at the beginning. Now I love it. I have begun to grow a feeling of more positivity and engagement in what I do, from taking action, to being more enthusiastic, awake, alive and alert. This trip has not only taught me more about my Jewish identity and how to be a better advocate for Israel but it has also thought me how to stay more engaged and alert. And I have learned more about my self. I have learned to deal with things better and how to stay more upbeat. These skills will be with me through my whole life whether I am in school, advocating for Israel, or just living life. I really would like to thank- my group, Amnon, Tina and everyone who made this trip possible.